You rarely see older bands come back with such force, but the reactivated Swans’ My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky was a total triumph. (As were the live shows that supported it.) They recorded one of the best albums of 2010, so makes sense then they’d keep it going: Michael Gira & Co. have completed the first recording phase of a new, still untitled album. The sessions took place at Berlin’s Studio P4 and at Einsturzende Neubauten’s old studio Andere Bausteller. Kevin McMahon of Marcata Recording in Gardiner, NY handled the controls — the recordings will continue at Marcata in early October after Swans complete their current tour. More info (and plenty of photos of Thor going for it):

Fans who have seen the recent Swans show will be familiar with some of the new material, which has been developing throughout the tour. They’ll also be aware that a few of the songs are now over 30 minutes in length, making their live set a comfortable 2 1/2 hours long. As it turns out, the new album will likely approach that length as well. Michael Gira (who is producing the album) has yet to decide in what format(s) the album will be made available.

The album’s being released through Young God in early 2012. In other news, Gira’s compiling a Swans live album using recordings from the current tour. It’ll be a limited-edition handmade CD with wood block print and drawing by Gira available exclusively via younggodrecords.com in October. Always the wise, independent business man, Gira’s using the proceeds from the live album to defray costs related to the recording of the studio album. The ongoing tour:

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